Tech-Friendly: What are your favorite Rockford websites?

What are your favorite local Rockford-area websites, and what do you like about them? Post your comments below, or send me an e-mail at paul@paulgorski.com.

Your reviews may be short or long, but please include links to the sites and describe what you like about them.

For example, I like Chris Wachowiak’s Kryptonite Bar website, http://www.kryptonitebar.com/. First, your know where you’re at when you’re there, as “Kryptonite” is emblazoned in large letters across the top of the screen.

Second, the message is clear: Kryptonite offers live music and craft beers. The site screams “events” with multiple listings of events, a map and video streams. Add to that a Flickr photo gallery and links to popular social media sites.

Compare that to the Chicago Rockford International Airport website, http://www.flyrfd.com, which I’d like to see get an upgrade.

When you arrive at FLYRFD.com you’re not immediately clear where you are at when you get there, as you almost have to search for the site name and logo. The plain layout and odd background color both leave me wanting more.

FLYRFD.com’s navigation is somewhat hidden, neither at the top or lowest portion of the screen, but offset from the bottom of the page a bit. The navigation bar almost obscures the News area and the Allegiant ads at the bottom of the screen. I get the feeling the site isn’t quite finished.

I do like the cursor “hovers” over the destination city names. The destination cities are clearly listed on the home page, a nice touch, and when your cursor hovers over a city name, the name of the airline and its telephone number is listed. It seems the design wants to take you away from FLYRFD.com, and if that is the case, it works.

Rather than focusing on the negative, though, please send me links and reviews of your favorite local websites, or post your comments below. If you don’t visit many local websites, let me know that, too.

Paul Gorski (www.paulgorski.com) has been a technology manager nearly 20 years, specializing in workflow solutions for printing, publishing and advertising computer users. Originally destined to be a chemist, his interest in computers began in college when he wrote a program to analyze data from lab instruments he hard-wired to the back of an Apple IIe.